Do You Like Me?
by SuperSandri
Summary: "During all this time, perhaps Marco had been too busy being first amused, impressed, then seriously smitten with this confident girl, who strived to live and never just exist, to stop and pop the question to himself." Marcomina. Modern AU. Oneshot.


**_Do You Like Me?_**

Pairing: Marco Bodt and Mina Carolina.

Rating: T

Setting: Most definitely a modern AU.

Author's notes at the end. Enjoy the fic!

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><p>Marco could never state it to himself, but Mina liked his flat. It was a rectangular studio flat that Marco often compared to being as big as a postage stamp, and only seemed bigger than it's true size because of the large shelf Marco placed about three-quarters into the place, separating his sleeping space from the tiny living room and kitchen area. The shelf itself held random knick-knacks on the structure, from what looked like other little analogue devices for Marco's extensive camera collection, to old comic books and other randoms items placed here and there.<p>

The section of the shelf that actually held the knick-knacks was turned away from the little single bed Marco slept on nightly, which made it seem more like a wall than a randomly placed furniture item. The effect it had was making the sleeping area seem more like a bedroom, and not just a bed placed in a studio flat smaller than Mina's little toe.

Mina still liked the place. It pleased her aesthetically in some senses, as there was a bit of a cozy charm to such a small place. Marco would always rub the tip of his nose when she told him how much she loved his flat, even though he would always tell her the same thing. It was not much, but it was home.

But it more than just 'not much' for her.

She had been here enough times to know the place from top to bottom. Mina knew that Marco was okay with a tiny kitchen, since his diet of take out was all he truly needed to survive. She knew that he always complained about having such a tiny bathroom to live with. She knew that there was a bowl on the coffee table that he kept his keys in, and knew that he would commonly freak out whenever he lost them. She even knew that the only place he would let her stash her guitar in whenever she visited was the small bit of room at the foot of the bed.

There was barely any foot traffic in the area, the guitar fit there perfectly, and it was definitely often that Mina Carolina visited the flat of Marco Bodt.

But she could never pinpoint where. Mina had a good enough place of her own. The 3 bedroom loft she shared with Sasha and Historia was plenty for her. It was a little bit lonely though. Sasha was usually up to her own antics and had a bigger life outside of where she slept at night, and Historia was just a very odd person, in Mina's opinion. She was like someone who had every ounce of happiness sucked out of her, her mouth that looked like it could smile for days now stuck in an eternal frown. Mina wanted to find out why her flatmate felt this way, but Historia stubbornly refrained from ever talking about it.

No one in her home would ever talk to her. Thinking back, they probably should have stated in the roommate ad that all they needed was someone to make the rent cheaper, and not a new friend.

So she would come to him.

This tall and lanky freckled guy who seemed to value cameras more than he valued his own life. (Judging from the time he attempted to take a photo while jaywalking. With a tripod.)

Something drew Mina towards him, something she could not exactly pinpoint. When they first met, he was just another stranger to her. She never saw him coming, but who could ever guess that the random guy with a camera who accidentally took an analogue photo of her that day would be the exact same guy who's loving embrace would attract Mina in like a bee to honey?

When she laid with him, she felt right. The way Mina would lay her head on Marco's chest so his beating heart could lull her to a much needed sleep after a long day was something she learned to love. Or the way Marco would just lay back and relax, inviting Mina to crawl up further onto his torso and let her just lay there was something Marco never knew he would crave so much in his life.

And he was very used to her presence in his bed by now. He always scooted over just a bit, he knew that she preferred little spoon, and did not mind it when she borrowed some of his clothes to sleep in. Though, her constantly laughing at his Justice League boxer shorts was getting a bit old by now.

They would some times lay in silence, as the faint noises of the cars on the street below would seep through the flat's walls and into the room. But other times, when sleep did not come so easy to one or both of their minds, they would stay up and talk.

It was mostly random stuff. Movies, work, music, cars, local news, international news. Whatever it was, when one spoke, the other would listen. Mina found Marco's theories on how George Lucas had visions of the future that caused him to create the Star Wars prequels both interesting and amusing. And Marco could not help but smile when he got Mina talking about the latest foreign bloke to chat with her during her last shift at the bookshop, and what kind of novel she recommended to them this time.

Marco laid with his back on the bed, pillows placed to support his back and neck as he placed himself in sort of a slanted sitting position, up against the headboard and wall. Mina, in a contrast, took advantage of his position fully, placing herself on top of Marco's front, her chin resting on his upper stomach, the slight tilt of his abdomen allowing her to keep her face looking up, eyes making contact with his.

"You tired already, tiger?" Mina asked, making it obvious from her tone that she was way more awake than he was.

"No, I'm not," Marco lied blatantly, yawning. His speech benefitted when he took in a much needed breath. "I'm resting my eyes."

Mina rolled her eyes, "That's the oldest one in the book." The subject changed quickly, like it always did, as Mina was one of the slight majority of people who just remembered things late at night in bed. "Oooh! I have to tell you this joke I heard today!"

"Who told it to you?" Marco wondered.

"It was this english woman, I think. Or maybe she was welsh…?" She couldn't remember, but Mina recalled the lady's accent being very prominent. "Anyway, here's the joke: How did the Italian chef die?"

Judging from her enthusiasm in the joke's build up, Marco knew it was best to let her finish. "I don't know, how?"

"He pasta way!" She spoke with so much energy in her last words, her smile just as cheesy as her joke. "Get it? Pasta way?"

Marco used the last remaining bits of energy still left inside his body to facepalm himself, making a mix of painful groaning noises and shamefully amused laughter. "Oh my god…" If he had the strength to move more, he would get onto his feet and leave the flat for about 5 hours.

Mina chuckled, mostly to herself, "See? You liked that one this time. There also this other one she told me. What was it…? Oh yeah. What do you call a habanaro that won't leave you alone? Wait, no, I said that wrong….. shit. What was it again? Uh… It was an jalapeno, I think…"

A mildly amused puff of air blew from Marco's nose as he rolled his eyes, "I'll just give you a moment here."

She shook her head, "No, forget it. The joke's ruined now."

"Tell me anyway," he insisted. "I need something boring to put me to sleep."

Mockingly, Mina stuck her tongue out at him like a child, "Fine then. What do you call a pepper who won't leave you alone?" She took a dramatic pause, "Jalapeño business!"

His groan sounded very pained, "Nyahhhh…." Marco highly considered kicking her out of the bed. Lucky for her, he didn't. Instead, he opted for the simple act of reaching for the hood of his sweater, lifting it up over his head, and pulling the strings hard enough that the fabric scrunched up and covered his eyes, only leaving his mouth exposed. "It's very late, you should probably go to sleep."

Mina found his reaction funnier than her joke, "Ha! You liked it, didn't you?"

"I did not," Marco denied. Though, the smile on his face wasn't helping his cause. "In fact, I think it may be one of the worst jokes I've ever heard."

Mina pouted, "You don't."

"I do," Marco insisted.

"You don't."

"I do."

"You don't."

"I do."

"You don't."

"I do."

"Do you like me?"

"I do."

He paused, the realization of what he had just confirmed quickly reaching his brain.

Mina could see his lips trembling very slightly, and judging from that, the only was she reacted was with pure amusement. "Oh wow… I was joking, dude, but do you really?" She always had a bad habit of not using her mouth filter, and occasionally blabbering out random words during peculiar times. But this time, her word vomit did not bring her embarrassment, but instead intrigue.

"I…" Marco pulled the fabric of his jacket hood up just a bit, exposing his expression of agog to her in faint lighting of the area. "… can't believe I fell for that."

"Or for me, I assume," Mina laughed off.

She was very good at shifting the mood, to him at least, as Marco's look of agog and aghast changed into his usual irked reaction when it came to Mina's antics.

He rolled his eyes, feeling as if he had rolled his eyes too many times for one night, and let his hood fall off his face completely, "Well, I suppose."

His expression and statement intrigued her, "So you do?"

Marco answered simply, "I'm not denying what I said, aren't I?" He never considered it, to be honest. During all this time, perhaps Marco had been too busy being first amused, impressed, then seriously smitten with this confident girl, who strived to live and never just exist, to stop and pop the question to himself.

"You aren't." The information settled in her mind smoothly, like the vodka people buy from the good part of the store. The reality remained that Mina was only intending to fool Marco with her words as the means of a joke. She only expected to laugh like an idiot at his reaction. But she did not expect that Marco's reaction, whatever it being, would actually be true.

Her eyes were now steady, locked right onto his, lips now suddenly pushed into a straight line, unable to speak. Or perhaps she was just out of words to say.

It definitely took a lot to shut Mina Carolina, a girl who was known for lacking a proper mouth-filter, up.

Marco usually felt pride in being able to hush up his friend without resorting to duct tape, but now, he only felt nervous. He wanted a stronger reply, or some sort of a reaction to what he had just said. His words were indirect, but he knew Mina was smart enough to understand what he intended.

Now she was looking at him like he was a museum exhibit. Her gaze was plain, as was his, but Marco still desired some sort of a answer for her. But if he wanted his answer to be clear, his question had to be as well.

Seconds of staring that felt way too long to be considered seconds passed, and Marco finally spoke.

"So…"

Mina's attention was caught.

"Since you asked me, maybe I should ask you as well." He took a breath, "Do you like me?"

Silence followed, and the only sounds heard in the flat were the steady breathing of the two people inside, the subtle pitter-patter of the rain outside, and the rhythm of their hearts that would beat as one.

She was halted to speak. Not due to dumbness, or shock, or confusion. Mina knew what she wanted to say. But she couldn't word it. She could see it in her mind, write it down, scream it to the heavens, compose a melody and sing about it, but for whatever reason, she could not get the words to form in her mouth.

She answered a different way, but still found a way to use her lips, despite them suddenly seeming useless at the most inconvenient time.

Mina reached over and pulled his hood up over his head. Marco was at first lost at what she was doing. "What are y-"

His speech was halted when he felt Mina's hand now behind his head, felt that said hand pulling him towards her, and felt the new yet familiar sensation of Mina Carolina touching her lips with his.

They had kissed before. Many times, in fact. The first being awkward, and second being less awkward, and comfort soon easing it's way into their relationship every time from then there on.

But there was something different about this kiss. The way Mina moved her lips against his, and held his shoulders and neck to keep herself close to him. She was practically up on her knees now, in an almost straddle-like position as she leaned over the torso of her lover.

She kissed him differently this time, moving her lips in a way that contrasted the way she would usually kiss him. Her kisses ranged from sweet and simple, to fast and rough, to devoted, eager, and undeniably hot. But this different in the fact that Marco felt that she was almost_tasting_ him. He had never been french kissed before, and it was a weird sensation for him.

But he liked it. So much so that Marco hands moved, one placing itself on the small of Mina's back, and the other on her neck's nape.

They stayed in the position for a moment, the silence of the flat only being occupied by the slight mumbles and moans that only ever remained under their breath.

Mina pulled away eventually, only her lips coming off him, the only thing still touching him being her forehead and hands. She opened her eyes, her chest rising and falling slowly with her gentle breaths.

The second Marco opened his eyes, Mina could see in the faint light that he was yet again expressing his agog and aghast, with what she had just done. He pulled his hood back, his face in a mix of amusement and surprise.

The roles were changed now, and Marco ended up being the one left speechless, and Mina being the one who finally found it in herself to speak.

"Definitely."

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><p><strong><em>An:_ **I'm not usually one for cheesy romance like this, thus the reason this story is called Do You Like Me? and not Do You Love Me? But, I have an undying thirst for Marcomina bed cuddles that I needed to satisfy, and there was only one way to do it.

This was originally posted on my tumblr account, and I posted it here due to how long it managed to get, and to organize my stuff better.

I do hope you liked the fic though, and leave a review if you feel like it.

_- Sandri_

Disclaimer: I do not own. Characters from Shingeki No Kyojin belong to Hajime Isyama.


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